Back in April, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hong Kong’s country parks, TrailWatch organised the “40 Checkpoint Challenge” along Hong Kong’s four long-distance trails. The response we got from our users was superb—among them, two users completed the challenge in two weeks or less! They each received an eco-friendly waterproof coat from our sponsors. We caught up with one of the winners, TrailWatch user Thomas Wong, to get to know more about his love for hiking and the great outdoors.
I first starting using TrailWatch when in 2016, I decided that I needed to lose weight. Hiking seemed like a good way to go about it, but I wanted to keep a record of my hiking experiences. So I went looking for a tracking app, and found TrailWatch. I’ve been using the app ever since! I fell in love with hiking, and even took up a mountaineering course and learnt how to map routes. During the whole process I learned how to take responsibility for the natural environment by leaving no trace. I also turned to the TrailWatch website to learn more about the hills.
I figured out how to make the best use of TrailWatch—all you need to create a route is select the start, end and via points, and TrailWatch will show you details on the route’s distance and elevation. This is how I use the app to determine whether my companions and I can safely complete the trail. Of course, in addition to TrailWatch’s suggested routes, there are many user-generated routes to which I can refer, which are especially useful when I’m exploring unfamiliar territory.
I took on the “40 Checkpoint Challenge” because I’d long made up my mind to hike all four long-distance trails. I completed a few sections with friends, which made the experience even more satisfying. Using TrailWatch’s new “Footprint” feature, I was able to categorise and identify the trails I had not completed, and find inspiration for planning my own routes.
Thomas Wong – https://www.trailwatch.hk/?t=dashboard2&uid=18270
I found the “40 Checkpoint Challenge” very difficult—the 40 checkpoints are distributed all across Hong Kong. It really tested my route planning skills and ability to make last-minute arrangements based on weather conditions. I work full-time, so it took a lot of careful planning to ensure that I made the most of my after-work hours and weekends to complete the challenge. I also got to know more about the app’s features: my incident report log was quite active because I saw a lot of illegal dumping on the hills. I want everyone to realise how big a problem illegal dumping has become. I want everyone to recognise the importance of the “leave no trace” principle. Overall, I’m really pleased with my accomplishment and it’s been a wonderful experience.
Want to be like Thomas and share your story with other TrailWatch users? Email us at [email protected] ! We’d love to hear from you.